{"id":148759,"date":"2026-04-13T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/13\/trump-admin-lawyer-applies-to-be-law-school-dean-suggests-it-might-help-investigations-go-away\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:17:37","slug":"trump-admin-lawyer-applies-to-be-law-school-dean-suggests-it-might-help-investigations-go-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/13\/trump-admin-lawyer-applies-to-be-law-school-dean-suggests-it-might-help-investigations-go-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admin Lawyer Applies To Be Law School Dean, Suggests It Might Help Investigations Go Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua Kleinfeld, Chief Counsel to the Secretary of the Department of Education, is currently on leave from his professorial role at George Mason University\u2019s law school (ASS Law, to its friends<\/a>) but would love<\/em> to be its next dean. His agency, of course, launched an investigation into George Mason University for alleged \u201cDEI violations,\u201d accusing the school\u2019s first Black president of waging a \u201cuniversity-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies,\u201d and generally trying to bully the institution into submission.<\/p>\n

No conflicts of interest there!<\/p>\n

But beyond the general skeeviness of applying for a job at the school your Department is harassing, Kleinfeld penned an application letter for the job that reads less like a cover letter and more like a note slipped under the door by a guy who knows where you live.<\/p>\n

George Mason has been under siege by the Trump administration since mid-2025. The Department of Education opened a Title VI investigation<\/a> in July 2025 based on complaints from a handful of conservative professors. By August, the DOE had already concluded that the university violated federal civil rights law<\/a>, with the Department\u2019s Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor declaring that President Gregory Washington \u201cwaged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race.\u201d That a federal probe reached this wide-ranging conclusion within one month might make you think it was all a sham investigation except\u2026. <\/p>\n

Yeah, I\u2019ve got nothing to add there.<\/p>\n

After the DOE delivered this pretextual salvo, the DOJ piled on with its own investigation<\/a>, congressional Republicans accused Washington of lying under oath<\/a>, conservative outlets ran coordinated hit pieces, and the university\u2019s own board \u2014 stacked with appointees made by Virginia\u2019s former Republican governor Glenn Youngkin \u2014 pressured Washington behind the scenes<\/a>. The board\u2019s rector was literally texting allies that \u201cGW is already in panic mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s multiple compounding investigations carpet bombing one university president. If only Republicans could muster the sort of outrage they have for a Black university administrator and apply it to \u2014 oh, I don\u2019t know \u2014 a pedophile sex trafficking ring with ties to the White House. Washington, to his credit, has refused to resign \u2014 unlike UVA\u2019s Jim Ryan, who was effectively pushed out over similar manufactured controversies.<\/p>\n

As a tenured professor taking a leave of absence to serve in the federal government, Kleinfeld applying to serve as the dean isn\u2019t inherently unusual. What IS unusual is that he\u2019s applying to lead a school that\u2019s part of a university his agency investigated. One suspects he would say that his current job \u2014 and its directly adversarial relationship to the university he hopes to hire him \u2014 shouldn\u2019t have anything to do with the decision. But when he took a job with the federal government to help oversee education, he had to understand that it might carry consequences that could complicate his future return to higher education. You don\u2019t get to accept the prestigious benefits of high government service and then claim to be a victim when it creates a conflict. <\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s this letter from Kleinfeld making his case to the ASS Law community for the job. For most of its 12 pages, it\u2019s a pretty standard deanship pitch. But then, in the second-to-last substantive paragraph, he flags \u201cpast controversies, sometimes with political overtones, have strained ties between the law school and the university,\u201d which is quite the spin on \u201cI\u2019m senior legal counsel for a federal agency that launched a probe to pressure the university president to resign.\u201d Then to close out the letter, in the final substantive paragraph, Kleinfeld puts forth a key qualification to separate him from the rest of the candidates:<\/p>\n

\n

As Scalia\u2019s dean, I may also be able to present positive aspects of GMU to the federal government, showcasing the university\u2019s good faith commitment to marketplace of ideas values. Over my last year-plus in government, I\u2019ve had a broad portfolio developing relationships with people not just at the Department of Education but throughout the grant-making and civil rights agencies of the government. My commitment to a marketplace of ideas in higher education is well-known, and I would be able to speak with credibility about my efforts to implement that commitment at Scalia Law.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whatever he might have intended, that paragraph sure reads as \u201cnice school you\u2019ve got here\u2026 shame if anything happened to it.\u201d He set up that there had been \u201ccontroversies\u2026 with political overtones\u201d and then immediately asserts that \u2014 if he gets the job \u2014 then maybe the federal government doesn\u2019t cause as much trouble. He frames it as a byproduct of his stellar skills at \u201cdeveloping relationships,\u201d but it certainly gives protection money vibes. And if it isn\u2019t<\/em> what he meant to signal, then you\u2019ve got to question his drafting skills.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s assault on higher education, by its nature, creates an environment where institutions feel compelled to install compliant leaders. Watching the DOE ramrod a month-long investigation, heap on more pressure across the government, and then have a DOE official offer himself up as a way to smooth over relations with the government? There\u2019s a certain irony in seeing a broad based attack on \u201cDEI,\u201d accusing minorities of getting positions that aren\u2019t based on merit and then watching someone from the attacking agency try to get a job citing his relationships<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Again, maybe he\u2019s not trying to spell it out like this, but we have to evaluate the four corners of the document. Since the legal profession runs on avoiding even the appearance of impropriety, the question for the powers-that-be at George Mason should be: if they hire the DOE\u2019s lawyer, and investigations subsequently go away, will anyone believe it was a coincidence?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I\u2019m not even sure ASS Law has the requisite sense of shame to care one way or the other.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Trump Admin Lawyer Applies To Be Law School Dean, Suggests It Might Help Investigations Go Away<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Joshua Kleinfeld, Chief Counsel to the Secretary of the Department of Education, is currently on leave from his professorial role at George Mason University\u2019s law school (ASS Law, to its friends<\/a>) but would love<\/em> to be its next dean. His agency, of course, launched an investigation into George Mason University for alleged \u201cDEI violations,\u201d accusing the school\u2019s first Black president of waging a \u201cuniversity-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies,\u201d and generally trying to bully the institution into submission.<\/p>\n

No conflicts of interest there!<\/p>\n

But beyond the general skeeviness of applying for a job at the school your Department is harassing, Kleinfeld penned an application letter for the job that reads less like a cover letter and more like a note slipped under the door by a guy who knows where you live.<\/p>\n

George Mason has been under siege by the Trump administration since mid-2025. The Department of Education opened a Title VI investigation<\/a> in July 2025 based on complaints from a handful of conservative professors. By August, the DOE had already concluded that the university violated federal civil rights law<\/a>, with the Department\u2019s Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor declaring that President Gregory Washington \u201cwaged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race.\u201d That a federal probe reached this wide-ranging conclusion within one month might make you think it was all a sham investigation except\u2026. <\/p>\n

Yeah, I\u2019ve got nothing to add there.<\/p>\n

After the DOE delivered this pretextual salvo, the DOJ piled on with its own investigation<\/a>, congressional Republicans accused Washington of lying under oath<\/a>, conservative outlets ran coordinated hit pieces, and the university\u2019s own board \u2014 stacked with appointees made by Virginia\u2019s former Republican governor Glenn Youngkin \u2014 pressured Washington behind the scenes<\/a>. The board\u2019s rector was literally texting allies that \u201cGW is already in panic mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s multiple compounding investigations carpet bombing one university president. If only Republicans could muster the sort of outrage they have for a Black university administrator and apply it to \u2014 oh, I don\u2019t know \u2014 a pedophile sex trafficking ring with ties to the White House. Washington, to his credit, has refused to resign \u2014 unlike UVA\u2019s Jim Ryan, who was effectively pushed out over similar manufactured controversies.<\/p>\n

As a tenured professor taking a leave of absence to serve in the federal government, Kleinfeld applying to serve as the dean isn\u2019t inherently unusual. What IS unusual is that he\u2019s applying to lead a school that\u2019s part of a university his agency investigated. One suspects he would say that his current job \u2014 and its directly adversarial relationship to the university he hopes to hire him \u2014 shouldn\u2019t have anything to do with the decision. But when he took a job with the federal government to help oversee education, he had to understand that it might carry consequences that could complicate his future return to higher education. You don\u2019t get to accept the prestigious benefits of high government service and then claim to be a victim when it creates a conflict. <\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s this letter from Kleinfeld making his case to the ASS Law community for the job. For most of its 12 pages, it\u2019s a pretty standard deanship pitch. But then, in the second-to-last substantive paragraph, he flags \u201cpast controversies, sometimes with political overtones, have strained ties between the law school and the university,\u201d which is quite the spin on \u201cI\u2019m senior legal counsel for a federal agency that launched a probe to pressure the university president to resign.\u201d Then to close out the letter, in the final substantive paragraph, Kleinfeld puts forth a key qualification to separate him from the rest of the candidates:<\/p>\n

\n

As Scalia\u2019s dean, I may also be able to present positive aspects of GMU to the federal government, showcasing the university\u2019s good faith commitment to marketplace of ideas values. Over my last year-plus in government, I\u2019ve had a broad portfolio developing relationships with people not just at the Department of Education but throughout the grant-making and civil rights agencies of the government. My commitment to a marketplace of ideas in higher education is well-known, and I would be able to speak with credibility about my efforts to implement that commitment at Scalia Law.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whatever he might have intended, that paragraph sure reads as \u201cnice school you\u2019ve got here\u2026 shame if anything happened to it.\u201d He set up that there had been \u201ccontroversies\u2026 with political overtones\u201d and then immediately asserts that \u2014 if he gets the job \u2014 then maybe the federal government doesn\u2019t cause as much trouble. He frames it as a byproduct of his stellar skills at \u201cdeveloping relationships,\u201d but it certainly gives protection money vibes. And if it isn\u2019t<\/em> what he meant to signal, then you\u2019ve got to question his drafting skills.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s assault on higher education, by its nature, creates an environment where institutions feel compelled to install compliant leaders. Watching the DOE ramrod a month-long investigation, heap on more pressure across the government, and then have a DOE official offer himself up as a way to smooth over relations with the government? There\u2019s a certain irony in seeing a broad based attack on \u201cDEI,\u201d accusing minorities of getting positions that aren\u2019t based on merit and then watching someone from the attacking agency try to get a job citing his relationships<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Again, maybe he\u2019s not trying to spell it out like this, but we have to evaluate the four corners of the document. Since the legal profession runs on avoiding even the appearance of impropriety, the question for the powers-that-be at George Mason should be: if they hire the DOE\u2019s lawyer, and investigations subsequently go away, will anyone believe it was a coincidence?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I\u2019m not even sure ASS Law has the requisite sense of shame to care one way or the other.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joshua Kleinfeld, Chief Counsel to the Secretary of the Department of Education, is currently on leave from his professorial role at George Mason University\u2019s law school (ASS Law, to its friends) but would love to be its next dean. His agency, of course, launched an investigation into George Mason University for alleged \u201cDEI violations,\u201d accusing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":148760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Headshot-300x200-8m7nJW.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}